‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’: Review Revue

This week at the multiplex, we’ve got just one new wide release: Review Revue: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” starring Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, and Scarlett Johansson in the latest Marvel superhero adventure. Find out what the critics have to say on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”

It’s become fashionable in some film-going circles to dismiss the recent spate of comic book adaptations as evidence that Hollywood is bereft of ideas. Critics say “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” offers a powerful rebuttal, delivering outstanding performances and a thoughtful political undercurrent to complement its visceral thrills.

This time out, Captain America (Chris Evans) is working undercover for S.H.I.EL.D., but quickly discovers that the organization is far more secretive than he suspected. Meanwhile, a mysterious assassin known as the Winter Soldier has carried out a series of killings — and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) seems to know more about his identity than she’s telling. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is Certified Fresh at 88 percent on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer; check out some of the reviews here:

Fresh: “What makes ‘The Winter Soldier’ so enjoyable… and what will make it so profitable, is its emotional bandwidth — all the vivid, nuanced life lived by its characters in between their frenzied escapades.” — Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal.

Fresh: “‘The Winter Soldier’ is superbly made and well-acted, neatly setting up the next few installments with just the right enticing sense of ongoing mystery.” – Ann Hornaday, Washington Post.

Fresh: “‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ is the first superhero film since the terrorist-inflected The Dark Knight that plugs you right into what’s happening now.” — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Rotten: “‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ has the usual overlong running time, the half-hearted feints in the direction of human feeling and the obligatory action sequences that are big without being either exciting or particularly legible.” — Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle.